Buddhist teachings about life (dharma) get a popular culture boost from the cult classic film The Princess Bride. Focusing on friendships, romantic relationships, and family, Buddhist teacher Ethan Nichtern makes the dharma fun and accessible.

The universe is alive with a dynamic energy that creates and sustains our lives. It surrounds us, flows through us, and is available to us in every moment. Spiritual practice, according to Dainin Katagiri Roshi, is about aligning ourselves with this ever-present life force--sometimes referred to as chi, qi, or ki. This collection, edited from his talks, focuses on cosmic energy as it relates to all aspects of Zen practice.

If you’ve heard about the many benefits of mindfulness practice but think you don’t have time for it in your busy life, prepare to be proven delightfully wrong. Mindfulness is available every moment, including right now, as Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays shows with these twenty-five mindfulness exercises that can be done anywhere. Use them to cultivate the gratitude and insight that come from paying attention with body, heart, and mind to life’s many small moments.

Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, Church of the Small Things. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one.

For Pope Francis, the appreciation of our everyday lives is a spiritual undertaking. Joy is a divine attribute, and creating joy around us an essential part of faith. Every homily and speech in this book delivers, in warm, engaging language accessible to believers and nonbelievers alike, a key lesson, instructing readers on finding love and happiness in a chaotic world.

After witnessing the devastation done by the Boston and Paris terror attacks and being critically injured in the Brussels bombing, Mason Wells was left with third-degree burns, emotional scars, and a shaken spirit. How could a merciful Father let evil prevail? Why had Mason been saved? What did God want from him? This miraculous true story will change how you see your own struggles and teach you the true power of forgiveness, perseverance, and faith.

In the high-speed world of the fighter pilot, milliseconds can be the difference between life and death. Training, preparation, and practice have prepared the pilot to make a split-second decision. Likewise, we will be faced with life-or-death spiritual decisions with only milliseconds to make a choice. If we don't prepare ahead of time for that split-second moral decision, we run the risk of a spiritual crash. The purpose of this book is to help you learn to use your moral agency effectively in difficult situations by applying the decision-making skills of a fighter pilot to your life.

Although we have been promised joy in life, sometimes the difficulties or tedium we experience make that hard to believe. What if we could learn to turn moments in our lives such as learning a new skill, serving others, or discovering the beauty of nature into lasting happiness? In this practical and specific guide, you’ll find how to do just that.

Explore historic temple square in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. These exquisite photographs showcase buildings in and around Temple Square, displaying intricate pioneer craftsmanship and modern architectural marvels. From the grand auditorium in the Conference Center to quiet spots for reflection near the Salt Lake Temple, you can experience the beauty and spirit of this sacred place.

Amidst growing concerns about general misinformation about the Islamic faith, this authoritative reveals the rich historical development and core theological teachings of the worlds second-largest religion. By covering Islam's philosophical development in detail alongside biographical treatments of several key thinkers, this title unveils the beliefs of an oft-misunderstood religion. Through an in-depth exploration of Muslim principles, this title demystifies Islam and provides a greater context in which to understand the Islamic faith.

Like a detective on an intricate case no one has yet solved, pioneering Bible scholar and bestselling author of Who Wrote the Bible? Richard Elliott Friedman cuts through the noise — the serious studies and the wild theories — merging new findings with new insight. From a spectrum of disciplines, state-of-the-art archeological breakthroughs, and fresh discoveries within scripture, he brings real evidence of a historical basis for the exodus — the history behind the story.

In this witty, insightful, and poignant book, Devorah Baum delves into fiction, film, memoir, and psychoanalysis to present a dazzlingly original exploration of a series of feelings famously associated with modern Jews. Reflecting on why Jews have so often been depicted, both by others and by themselves, as prone to “negative” feelings, she queries how negative these feelings really are. And as the pace of globalization leaves countless people feeling more marginalized, uprooted, and existentially threatened, she argues that such “Jewish” feelings are becoming increasingly common to us all.